Transcript Vietnam War Notesx

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Policy of Containment
Following World War II, the United States
adopted the policy of containment to halt
the expansion of Communist influence.
American involvement in Vietnam grew out
of the policy commitments and assumptions
of containment.
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Following World War II, the French continued
to exercise influence and control over
Indochina.
The Viet Minh defeated the French in 1954
The United States refused to sign the Geneva
Accords and soon replaced the French as the
dominant Western power in Indochina
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The United States believed that if one nation
feel under Communist control, nearby
nations would inevitably also fall under
Communist influence
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An Incident in the Gulf of Tonkin
The United States alleged that North
Vietnamese torpedo boats launched an
unprovoked attack against American
Destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
The facts of what actually happened have
never been fully explained.
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Congress responded to the unsubstantiated
report of North Vietnamese aggression by
overwhelmingly passing the Tonkin Gulf
Resolution
The resolution authorized President Lyndon
Johnson to “take all necessary measure to repel
any armed attack against the forces of the
United States and to prevent further
aggression.”
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution gave President
Johnson a blank check to escalate the war in
Vietnam
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1968 the Viet Cong suddenly launched a
series of attacks on 27 key South
Vietnamese cities, including the capital,
Saigon
The Viet Cong were eventually forced to
retreat after suffering heavy losses.
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The Tet Offensive undermined President
Johnson’s credibility.
As a result of the Tet Offensive, public
support for the war decreased and antiwar
sentiment increases.
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Hawks supported the Vietnam War.
Silent Majority was the name given by
President Nixon to moderate, mainstream
Americans who quietly supported his
Vietnam War policies. Members of the Silent
Majority believed that the United States was
justified in supporting South Vietnam
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Doves opposed the Vietnam War
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Vietnamization
Supported by the Silent Majority, Nixon
began to slowly withdraw American troops
from Vietnam and replace them with newly
trained South Vietnamese troops.
Known as Vietnamization, the policy
promised to preserve U.S. goals and bring
“peace with honor”.
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President Nixon suddenly and without
consulting Congress ordered American
forces to join with the South Vietnamese
army in cleaning out the Viet Cong
sanctuaries in neutral Cambodia.
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Angry students responded to the Cambodian
invasion with demonstrations at campuses
across the United States.
At Kent State University in Ohio, nervous
members of the National Guard fired into a
noisy crowd, killing four students and
wounding many more.
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The War and the Economy
The United States could not afford both
President Johnson’s Great Society programs
and the Vietnam War.
The Combination of spending on the war
and social programs produced the high
inflation rates of the 1960s and early 1970s
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The Vietnam War increased public skepticism
toward international involvement.
In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers
Act, placing restrictions on a president’s
ability to wage wars.